The present invention relates to refrigeration apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for cooling the air in a building or the like.
The term refrigeration implies the creation of a temperature in a given space lower than the temperature in some other, or adjacent space. In air conditioning for instance, refrigeration or cooling of a space is required when the environmental condition are such that heat must be removed from the air to provide a comfortable temperature for the occupants of the space. Most prior art air conditioning apparatus utilize the vapor compression method of refrigeration in which a refrigerant absorbs the heat in the air at the relatively low temperature of the air and is vaporized, and then by the action of mechanical work through compression, is raised to a sufficiently high temperature to allow rejection of this heat during condensation of the vapor back to a liquid. A compressor is utilized to raise the temperature of the refrigerant and to establish a pressure differential for moving the refrigerant through the system. Refrigeration systems of this nature are relatively expensive to operate because of the energy required to drive the compressor. In addition, additional energy is usually required to circulate air or some other fluid around the condensor of the system for condensing the refrigerant which has been vaporized, back to a liquid. Also complicated controls, such as expansion valves, compressor valves, and float valves, are required to control the flow of the refrigerant through the system.
Other types of refrigeration systems such as the absorption type and the steam jet type do not utilize a compressor but depend on additional heat input into the system to change the condition of the refrigerant required in the refrigeration cycle, and to circulate the refrigerant through the system. These types of refrigeration systems because of their energy requirements are also relatively expensive to operate and also require complicated controls.
The present invention does not utilize a refrigeration cycle in which energy is added to a refrigerant to allow rejection of absorbed heat, rather the invention provides apparatus for moving heat from a warm medium such as the air in a room, to a cooler medium such as subterranean water without the use of additional energy input, and with a minimum number of controls and valves. The invention can be used to provide refrigeration whenever a temperature difference exists between a space to be cooled and a medium which is capable of absorbing the transferred heat. The invention can be used in most refrigeration applications and is particularly suitable for use in air conditioning applications where the heat in the warm air of a building can be transferred to cool subterranean water or to the building's domestic water supply.
The refrigeration system of the invention then generally comprises means for collecting heat from the material and space that is being refrigerated, and means for transferring this heat to a cooler medium. More particularly the invention comprises; evaporator means adapted to contain a refrigerant for collecting heat from the space to be cooled for transforming part of the refrigerant from a liquid to a vapor; pump means for circulating the warmed refrigerant to a medium cooler than the space to be cooled and then back through the evaporator means; and heat exchanger means for transferring heat from the heated refrigerant to the cooling medium.
The pump means of the invention is thermal pump apparatus of the type disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,951,204 for thermally circulating a liquid, and is capable of circulating the refrigerant through the system with no energy input other than the heat energy transferred by the room to be cooled to the refrigerant.